Ankyra Sound digital bath

After touching base with the Rise, the Redtail ranges once more, toward the coast this time. 

He battles against the ocean breeze, which whips and tousles his dark fur as he walks. Soon, the trees fall behind him and he sees the endless blue of the ocean for the first time. A sight to behold.

Mulherin reaches the shore at last and finds that the land abruptly ended ahead. He is left standing along the edge of a stony cliff. The boy recklessly stares over the edge and into the waves below. The water is restless, churning with such a power that was unfathomable. He lingers there in quiet observation, then decides to descend the cliffs in favor of the beach sprawling before him. His forest-worn paws are soon warmed by the sands as he pads along.

The Berserkr feels strangely exposed here. There were no shadows to blend into, no undergrowth to disappear into. He stood out like a sore thumb and his senses were overwhelmed—the roar of the waves in his ears, the pungent scent of the ocean in his nostrils, all of it was nothing like he'd ever experienced before.

He sniffs further at the salty, frothy water, even venturing to take a lick. The water is putridly salty. It hits him like a slap to the face and sends him reeling, spitting and coughing to get it out of his mouth immediately. With an indignant snort and lash of his tail, he brushes off the mistake and walks off along the waterside.

Mulherin begins to wonder why the sea chose this spot to stop instead of invading further. 

He also wonders how strong the current may be. 

The boy wades in to test this. He stands amid the waves lapping at his forelegs. Idly, he contemplates about wading in even deeper.

casually messes up my timeline to yoink this

dinah had missed the sea.
she couldn't remember the last time she'd come near it. the coast she remembered from her adolescence was not nearly so... cliff-y. but it is still nice; the cool, salty air feels good upon her face, and so too do the sunbeams bouncing off the rocks. the sand is tougher here, but the sensation of it is welcomed all the same. it was different, and in some way this hurt her heart, but it is also a good difference. it is new.
almost instinctively, she noses along the shore for seashells. maybe if she found a nice one, she could bring it back for — ah. she's pulled from her thoughts rather suddenly by the sight of a phantom standing ankle-deep in the waves. he is tall, dark, and handsome! dinah had never before felt such a strange feeling in her gut.
she approaches with her head low, as if she was afraid he might run away screaming if he turned to look at her. her smile is bashful. you ever seen the ocean before?

A voice.

Mulherin turns his head to face the girl, his feet still submerged in a layer of bitterly freezing water. She is slim and windblown, draped in a coat of washed out red—vaguely reminiscent of his mother, if she were sunbleached. The thought has him eyeing her keenly, especially since she did not rise to look at him.

His tail sways in a friendly wag, kicking up a barrage of water droplets every time it skims the waves.

Come on, it can't be that obvious. He replies, masking his unwillingness to outright admit that no, this was his first time seeing the ocean behind a layer of dry humor. The water's just fine. See?

dinah barks out a giggle, a newfound confidence to her stride as she saunters a few feet closer. maybe i'll join you then.
the water is still freezing at this time of year, and it shocks a gasp out of her as she begins to wade further into the seafoam. but she adjusts quickly, naturally; the water nearly reaches her shoulders by the time she's at the side of the strange boy. now that she can truly see him, warmth rushes to her cheeks and flushes the tips of her ears.
he's nothing quite like anyone she'd seen before. cloaked in midnight, almost vampiric; mysterious, rugged. she is mystified and yet pleased in a way that sends a flutter to her belly.
she sighs contentedly, the stupid little grin now reaching her eyes as she pans her gaze out to the vast expanse of ocean. it's pretty cool, isn't it? it makes you feel small. like nothing else matters.

She drew nearer, growing bolder by the minute. The girl debated joining him.

Be my guest, He encouraged. 

And she traversed the waters like a born natural. The water was still intolerably frigid though, which elicited a gasp from her and a soft chuckle from him at her expense. In a few steps, she met him there and gleamed with an innocuous sort of bliss.

He could see her closer now, and noticed her eyes; an adventurous shade of blue. The boy studies her face as she turns her gaze toward the ocean.

She was right. He did feel small amongst the tumultuous wake, amongst the endless, bottomless plane of seawater which loomed ahead. 

I can't feel anything. He jests, now squinting against the sun, which reflected brilliantly on the water. You're from the coast, I'm guessing.

an island, actually, dinah quirks a brow at the boy. name's dinah. the wilds' resident mermaid.
she paces a few more steps forward, past him until the water reaches her neck. disappearing beneath the surface, she pops back up with a stream of pearlets running down her chin; the smile returns, childish and crooked.
come swim, it won't bite, she reaches out a willowy forelimb as if to beckon him toward her. just be careful if you see a big, pointy fin. you don't wanna fuck with the sharks.

Dinah, I'm Mulherin, from the Rise. He replied, but she was already venturing out further into the sea. I've never seen a mermaid with legs before.

Her ruddy head slips beneath the waves, then she re-emerges, lively and grinning wildly. Mulherin observes her curiously; she swam well, a fish to water.

She invites and beckons him forth, sly and siren-like, offering a playfully mordant warning about sharks.

Fuck the sharks. He quips.

And he makes his way toward her in slow bounds through the deep water. The ground soon disappears beneath his feet, so he paddles seaward. How far are the islands? He asks, reaching her side.

his name is mulherin, and he's from — the rise? she calls back, head leaning sideward. it sounded mysterious, vague as it was. oddly fitting for a boy like him. it's a day of firsts for you, isn't it?
he confidently swims out to meet her, and though she almost thought he would be frantic and inexperienced, he is steady. he meets her side and she feels a brilliant rush of exhiliration, meeting the eyes of wild ember with a suddenly sheepish look of her own. dinah had never done this before! so far from home, hanging out with a strange boy. she's suddenly sure daddy must be rolling in his grave right about now.
he asks of her home, and she sobers from the heady warmth, a coolness caught in her breath. my island is probably about a day or two's travel from here. but i haven't been there in a while, a long while. i've been living with my mom and my sister in rivenwood. but it got kinda crowded, so, i've been travelling, and now... here i am.
she flicks a few droplets of water toward him, and watches as they roll off the oilslick coat. she shivers. what about you, mulherin from the rise? waves started to call your name too?

Mulherin was not the most adept swimmer, but the strong rivers back home taught him how to swim against the current. He makes up for the rest in sheer boldness.

Redtail Rise. West of a glacier. He clarifies, bobbing alongside the sandswept girl. There's a first time for everything, right?

Dinah was from Rivenwood—a place that was still unknown to him. They were both far from home. And, in a strangte way, they were both searching for something. Soul searching, really.

Why not go back? To the island? He asks out of curiosity, unable to fathom why she would leave the coast, where she seemed so at home. Did she not miss the sea?

As for why he was here, in the words of the Sapphique girl, he answers—I hadn't been here before, and now I have.

And a small part of him wondered if Masquerade had seen it too, the ocean, before she had left for good. If maybe she had also explored, and this was her first taste of true freedom, before she found somewhere else intangibly better than the Rise.

Well, maybe it was the waves, He continues, then quickly sucks in his breath as a wave barrels toward them. Diving, he ducks beneath the water and resurfaces, grinning coyly. Or maybe it was your mermaid magic, Dinah of Rivenwood.

redtail rise, west of a glacier, he says. he asks why she does not return to sweetharbor, and her stomach flips. i dunno. there's just... nothing there for me anymore, i guess.
she shrugs nonchalantly, ignoring the sharp nip of pain the thought of the lavender fields brought her. there was no one left, unless malakai and simeon had stayed, or unless — something else. she chooses not to think about it.
there's a comfortable, relaxing coolness to mulherin, something so alluring; sour and yet sweet, sharp-edged and finelined. she watches as seafoam roils, curling in an angry spiral, and the subsequent wipeout of the glacier boy. she gasps before dissolving into a fit of fluttering, girlish laughter.
my mermaid magic, huh? heat spreads to her cheeks, pooling in the depths of her belly. oh, you've caught onto my evil scheme. such a shame! what ever shall you do, mulherin?

I get it. He responds. If the Rise relocated, would he still visit their territory? Most likely not, he thinks. The young Redtail was not the sentimental sort. The Rise was nothing without anyone in it. The reaction she'd had told him not to press further.

A smile warms his face upon realizing Dinah's antics.

Oh no, I knew it all along. He laments, his voice nearly drowned out by the sound of a seagulls squawking overhead.

His next move is—

This, He declares with a throaty laugh, slapping the water's surface and sending a spray of water toward the girl. Then, he flees the scene, paddling hastily toward the shore.

oh no you don't! the bastard! the traitor! what on earth was this tomfoolery? dinah cackles to herself as she watches him make a break for it, albeit very slowly. he wasn't getting away with it on her watch.
she disappears beneath the current, propelling herself against the grain in order to catch up to him. she springs back up out of the water in a flash of scarlet, blocking his path to safety with an impish grin.
for a second, she is a little girl again.
whatcha gonna do about it noooo-oow? she teases. she pushes herself forward until she can touch the sea floor again before she darts off in a bounding lope, spraying water up into the air — and hopefully into mulherin's face. she is one with the waves as she splashes along the shallow edge, turning around only to ensure she is being followed.

He thought he's made good progress in putting some distance between them when—like a seal, Dinah resurfaces in front of him. God—you have fins or something. 

He continues paddling toward her, and he would've steamrolled over her too, if she didn't turn tail and make a break for the shore first. The boy's heart races with the innocent thrill of the chase.

And what was he gonna do about it? 

C'mere and I'll show you. He goads.

The Berserkr is quick to go after her and reaches land, only to be hit with a barrage of water she kicks up. This does little to stop him—this is his terrain now. In greedy bounds, Mulherin charges toward her at the beginnings of a full sprint.